Screen Time- How It Affects Your Child?
Nowadays, children are surrounded by different digital devices. They are living in the digital age and just like the adults they are using different devices. This includes laptops, smartphones, tablets, PCs, and much more.
Digital devices have given us access to everything we need to know or want to see on the internet. It’s all on our fingertips and we are very much dependent on the digital devices in our everyday life. The person who uses the devices cannot imagine their life without the devices and the internet.
The advancement in the field of technology has provided us with various things, but it has some drawbacks as well. Screen time is one of the important drawbacks on the list. Today’s parents have to figure out the way to reduce the screen time of their children. Children are using their devices for entertainment, playing games, watching educational content, watching videos, and much more. This all combines up and leads to increased screen time that is harmful to the children.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents should set a time limit for their children and limit their use of digital devices. Furthermore, a study was done by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. According to this, even after the restriction, the children between the age group of 8 to 18 years, spend 7 ½ hours on their devices for entertainment in a day.
Problems Due to Increased Screen Time
Everything has a negative effect and screen time is no different. Screen time does not only include the use of digital devices, but it also includes the time you spent in front of TV or monitors.
Now, let’s have a look at the problems that kids might face due to the increased screen time according to the research:
1-Sleeping Issues
Sleeping plays an important role in our overall health. If the sleeping cycles get disturbed, then this has a negative effect on health. It is a common observation that most of the children and even adults watch TV before going to bed. Children also use their devices before sleeping. Note that the lights emitted from the screen will disturb your sleeping cycle and this might lead to insomnia.
2-Obesity
Children are using the devices while sitting or lying down on the couch or on their bed. A sedentary lifestyle might lead to obesity. Children watch TV or use their digital devices while eating and also play games while sitting in front of a monitor. If your kid is continuously using the devices and no physical activity is done, then your child’s weight will be increased.
3-Behavioral Problem
A kid’s behavior is very much important. Parents try their best to train their kids and make good behavior an important part of their personality. According to research, elementary school-age children who watch TV or use their digital devices for more than two hours, have to face social, attention, and emotional problems.
4-Violence
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, if your child is watching violent TV shows, movies, or playing violent video games, this will increase violence in their behavior. Furthermore, they might use violence to resolve their problems and try to do things that are shown on TV, movies, or in the games.
5-Educational Problems
Education is very important for kids. They have to pay a lot of attention to their studies to score good grades. Children who spend most of their time in front of the TV or use digital devices, do not perform well in their studies. They are busy playing or watching things even during study time, so this creates education problems for them.
Digital Devices- Reason Behind Problem in Relationship Between You and Your Child
There is a lot of debate that children are using the devices, but adults are also using the devices. It is important to note that adults will also have to face a problem regarding sleeping and obesity due to the increased screen time.
Note that even if you are not facing a health problem, then there is a huge chance that the digital devices might harm your relationship with your child. According to a survey conducted in 2015 by AVG Technologies, one-third of children have reported that parents don’t pay attention when playing with them or eating meals because they are busy using their digital devices.
If parents are busy on their phones and do not give an adequate amount of time to their children, then this will affect their development and mental health. Another study suggested that if children are continuously ignored, then they might develop health problems like depression.
Setting Up Family Rules for Digital Devices
As a family, it is important for all family members to understand the negative effects of increased screen time. You need to set up some family rules for reducing your screen time. The rules will be applicable to children and adults. In this way, you can protect your kid and yourself at the same time.
Have a look at some rules that you need to set up for your house:
• No use of devices when going out in the car.
• No devices when eating meals because this is the best time when all the family is sitting together.
• No use of devices in your bedroom before sleeping.
• No electronic usage during the family fun nights.
Other than this, you should also consider digital detox for the entire family. You can set one day mostly on weekends to stay away from the devices or during the vacations. This will help you and your child to stay connected and will improve your relationship along with their physical and emotional health.
It Depends On You!
Now, parents are fully aware of the negative effects of increased screen time and the things they need to do to avoid the problems. It is your choice how you are going to manage the things.
If you are looking to get one of the best parental controls to monitor your child’s screen time and other activities, then FamilyTime is the right choice for you. The app comes with amazing features like limit screen time, app blocking, internet scheduling, internet filter, location, geofence places, and much more. The app is designed to provide full control of the child’s devices in the parent’s hands for monitoring and protection.
